20-449. Rebates on life or disability insurance; definitions

A. Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, a person shall not knowingly allow or offer to make or make any contract of life insurance, life annuity or disability insurance, or agreement as to such contract other than as plainly expressed in the contract issued thereon, or pay or allow, or give or offer to pay, allow or give, directly or indirectly, as an inducement to such insurance or annuity, any rebate of premiums payable on the contract, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits thereon, or any valuable consideration or inducement whatever not specified in the contract.  For the purposes of this section, a prohibited rebate includes payment, directly or indirectly, by a health care provider, health care institution or drug manufacturer of the premiums or subscription fees for an enrollee under any health benefits plan issued by a health care insurer in this state.

B. This section does not prohibit an insurer from retaining an independent third party to conduct a customer feedback effort intended to help the insurer improve the quality of its products or services and to offer an insured business or individual a reasonable incentive to participate in the feedback effort. An incentive is presumed reasonable if it does not exceed $200.  An insurer may not offer, reference or promote an incentive or feedback effort under this section in connection with an application for or renewal of insurance coverage. For the purposes of this subsection, "feedback effort" means activities that are designed to elicit customer perceptions on a predetermined set of topics that are related to the insurer's products or services, including in-person, telephonic or online surveys, polls, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires and other recognized opinion-gathering mechanisms.

C. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Drug manufacturer" means any person that produces, prepares, compounds, processes, packages, labels, propagates or repackages prescription medication.

2. "Enrollee" means an individual who is a patient of or receiving health care services from, and is not an employee or dependent of an employee of, a health care provider, health care institution or drug manufacturer and who is enrolled in a health benefits plan provided by a health care insurer.

3. "Health benefits plan" means a disability insurance policy, a hospital and medical service corporation policy or certificate, a health care services organization contract, a group disability policy or a certificate of insurance of a group disability policy, including medicare advantage plans, medicare supplement insurance plans and medicare part D prescription drug plans.

4. "Health care institution" has the same meaning prescribed in section 36-401.

5. "Health care insurer" means a disability insurer, group disability insurer, blanket disability insurer, health care services organization, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation or hospital and medical service corporation.

6. "Health care provider" means a person who is regulated pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 15.1, 16, 17, 18, 19, 19.1, 25, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 39 or 41 or title 36, chapter 6, article 7 or chapter 17.